1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mounting bracket, a pair of which are affixed at opposite sides of a conventional computer memory device (e.g. a hard disk drive system), to enable the memory device to be reliably and detachably mounted upon a removable computer circuit card which carries the electronics necessary for controlling the operation of the memory device and interfacing the device with the computer hardware.
2. Background Art
It is common for portable computers to include an internal memory which is fixed within the computer housing. One such conventional memory device is a hard disk drive system which, by virtue of its small size, storage capacity and vibration isolation, is ideal for many personal computing applications. In some cases, it may be necessary to repair or replace the disk drive system. However, it is generally a labor intensive task to gain access to and physically remove the disk drive system for inspection. In other cases, it may be desirable to repair or replace the electronics which control the operation, data transfer and addressing of the disk drive system. This too may prove to be a labor intensive task. Consequently, and in these cases, a repair or replacement of the disk drive system or its electronics will often necessitate that the computer be transported to a remote repair facility that is capable of making the required changes. The computer down time and costs associated with employing the services of such a repair facility contribute to inefficient computer use.
It would therefore be desirable to easily and detachably mount a computer memory device (e.g. a hard disk drive system) on a removable carrier, such as a circuit card, or the like, which contains the electronics necessary for the control, data transfer and addressing of the device. In this way, the repair or replacement of the memory device and/or its control/interface electronics can be quickly and efficiently accomplished without having to transport the computer to a remote location by simply removing the old circuit card and either installing an altogether new card or returning the old card with a new disk drive system mounted thereon.
Examples of computer disk drive systems which are carried on electronic circuit cards are available by referring to the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
4,568,988 Feb. 14, 1986
4,639,863 Jan. 27, 1987
5,062,016 Oct. 29, 1991